Drivers door open while train moving

[Long Rock]

was on the Tamar bridge earlier watchig a couple of hst’s rumbling over and one of them had the drivers door open which was proped open with what looked like a bag of some sort. Now i know the weather is hot and i cant imagine these being fitted with aircon and there was no chance of the driver falling out!!!! But was wondering what the rules and regulations are regarding this practice?

 

[Long Rock]

Not the one with the door open but just a pic to show how nice it was there today

 

[trainmania100]

Don't know if there are any regulations or if any drivers have fallen out but if a driver did fall out then I'm sure a regulation would come into force.
I see 66 doors open all the time but there are two doors one inside and one out so little risk of falling out

 

[Eccles1983]

Its a door open in traffic, and without special permission its a big no no (on passenger services anyway)

 

[irish_rail]

We are not allowed to do it however a blind eye is turned as the alternative would be sorry guvnor cab is too hot I'm failing the train. The only way the driver would potentially fall out on a HST anyway, would be if the power car derailed.
This will all soon be a thing of the past anyway as IET driver doors are interlocked so cannot be open on the move

 

[DarloRich]

happens all the time all over the network, most often i have seen on fright trains. I suspect a blind eye is turned.

 

[richieb1971]

I've seen drivers bear chest. You can't not see that.

 

[class 9]

happens all the time all over the network, most often i have seen on fright trains. I suspect a blind eye is turned.

66s and 60s, the cab doors on the side of the loco are outer doors, there is another internal door into the cab, no blind eyes being turned!

 

[DarloRich]

66s and 60s, the cab doors on the side of the loco are outer doors, there is another internal door into the cab, no blind eyes being turned!

and 90's and 86's?

Personally I don't think it is an issue. Drivers need ventilation and a cool, comfortable working place to support concentration. If air con isnt provided what choices do they have?

 

[Warwick]

How on earth would a driver sitting at the driving desk of an HST with the cab door wide open manage to fall out? I've been in the cab of an HST (nice driver in Pz let me have a look a few years ago) and the door is behind the driver's seat.
Some people have too much time on their hands and too much imagination.

 

[GB]

and 90's and 86's?

Personally I don't think it is an issue. Drivers need ventilation and a cool, comfortable working place to support concentration. If air con isnt provided what choices do they have?

If the outer doors on a 66 are open its usually because someones either forgot to close them or not bothered to close them. You get next to no extra ventilation with the external doors open even if you wedge the internal door open.

 

[Segedunum]

At least it's not Hungary where my train today took off from Budapest Nyugati with all of the passenger doors open

 

[route101]

At least it's not Hungary where my train today took off from Budapest Nyugati with all of the passenger doors open

Quite common in SE Europe , id thought Hungary had a bit stricter rules than the Non Eu countries to the South. Had it on train in Bosnia , doors left open for air . In Istanbul had an EMU in suburban doors layout with no doors closed .

 

[Segedunum]

Quite common in SE Europe , id thought Hungary had a bit stricter rules than the Non Eu countries to the South. Had it on train in Bosnia , doors left open for air . In Istanbul had an EMU in suburban doors layout with no doors closed .

Doors all closed by the time we were at about 20mph, these being power doors too. Think it was just slowness, although I wouldn't have minded the extra breeze!

 

[SPADTrap]

I drive these and you won't fall out. Sometimes the cab air con fails and this is the only option other than failing the train or terminating to change ends. Its a nice break from the diesel smell in the cab too until the speed builds. It's noisy at 125MPH though! Voyager/Meridian are the same when the cab air con fails.

 

[Dieseldriver]

There was an incident on LUL about 15 years ago where a Driver fell out of an open cab door between stations! Luckily they didn't sustain serious injuries!

 

[Warwick]

At least it's not Hungary where my train today took off from Budapest Nyugati with all of the passenger doors open

I was on a Paris suburban train some years ago in hot weather where the train rattled along between stations with all of the doors open.

 

[class 9]

and 90's and 86's?

Personally I don't think it is an issue. Drivers need ventilation and a cool, comfortable working place to support concentration. If air con isnt provided what choices do they have?

Fair enough, but they both have a partition wall behind the cab seats, so no one will ever fall out.

 

[Jonfun]

How on earth would a driver sitting at the driving desk of an HST with the cab door wide open manage to fall out? I've been in the cab of an HST (nice driver in Pz let me have a look a few years ago) and the door is behind the driver's seat.
Some people have too much time on their hands and too much imagination.

The chance of someone falling out - particularly of a HST - is indeed negligable. But it's still against the rules, and whilst there's plenty of rules I wish we'd take a common sense approach to, we still have to follow them.

 

[DarloRich]

Fair enough, but they both have a partition wall behind the cab seats, so no one will ever fall out.

i know no one will ever fall out

 

[Taunton]

We are not allowed to do it

However do those who dream up such regulations think crews handled steam locomotives, with a wide open space both sides of the cab at all times, the floor slippery from water and spilled small coal, and the driver actually leaning out over the side for a better view. And nobody fell out.

 

[HLE]

Nothing wrong with that. Or even having the cab door partially propped open with a rucksack when it gets too hot. Would you rather the driver fainted? Sometimes the cab is warmer than the passenger area.

 

[Pete_uk]

See it with HSTs often.

Wasn't there a driver many years ago who lost his trousers out the cab after he took them off in hot weather?

 

[farleigh]

See it with HSTs often.

Wasn't there a driver many years ago who lost his trousers out the cab after he took them off in hot weather?

mmmm........

 

[FOCTOC]

If I were still driving locos, I'd still be driving with the cab doors open in hot weather. Did it for years on 08s, 37s, 47s, 56s, 73s and latterly 70s - which have a latch to pin tge doors open. Not a lot of need on those though as the a/c is so effective. Nothing wrong with it unless you need it shut for interlock - in which case you aint going anywhere with it open anyway.

 

[Antman]

I've also seen the cab door into the passenger area propped open to get a decent air flow through the cab.

 

[whhistle]

However do those who dream up such regulations think crews handled steam locomotives, with a wide open space both sides of the cab at all times, the floor slippery from water and spilled small coal, and the driver actually leaning out over the side for a better view. And nobody fell out.

Because in those days, people didn't blame the company for not protecting them.
They used (what was) common sense. It's not that common these days.

 

[transmanche]

Because in those days, people didn't blame the company for not protecting them.
They used (what was) common sense. It's not that common these days.

Ah, the good old days when 30,000 railway workers were killed or injured annually. So much better...

 

[dctraindriver]

Ah, the good old days when 30,000 railway workers were killed or injured annually. So much better...

I’d love to see your sources for this statistic....

 

[transmanche]

I’d love to see your sources for this statistic....

National Railway Museum. From their exhibition Caution! Railway Safety Since 1913.

By 1913, worker deaths and injuries had increased to over 30,000 in a single year.